


Breakfast At Tiffany's

by GothamsGirl



Category: Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Everlark Movies in the Month of May, Everlarkian Archives, F/M, Fluff, Katniss is a little ooc, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2015-05-14
Packaged: 2018-03-30 13:29:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3938539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothamsGirl/pseuds/GothamsGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peeta tilts his head, confused when she smiles softly, "I know what it's like. It's like Tiffany's."</p>
<p>"Tiffany's?" He questions, even more confused then before, "The jewelry store?"</p>
<p>"That's right," She smirks at him, pouring the milk into a small bowl on the floor, "I'm crazy about Tiffany's."</p>
<p>Peeta Mellark moves to New York and meets his new downstairs neighbor. She's insane, gorgeous, and has a scowl that could kill a man. Katniss Everdeen takes his life on a journey of twists and turns like he's never expected. After all, they do say New Yorkers never get to know their neighbors.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breakfast At Tiffany's

She's absolutely stunning.

Peeta can't believe it when the woman, her hair long and dark brown with her sleeping mask pushed up her forehead and clad in a simple white robe opens her door after buzzing him in. She examines him from head to toe with those gorgeous eyes the color of the sky during a thunderstorm when she asks, "Who are you?"

"Peeta," He introduces himself, "Peeta Mellark. I just moved in."

She stares at him oddly before removing the dangling purple things that were stuck in her ears. Oh, ear plugs. Peeta smiles warmly and repeats himself. "I lost my keys, sorry to wake you." The man adds at the last second, taking in her sleepy eyes and overall tired appearance.

"It's quite alright." She assures, "Happens all the time to me."

"I hate to bother you," Peeta interrupts as she starts to close the door in his face, "But can I use your phone quickly?"

"Who do you need to call?"

"My... Decorator."

"Sure then," Opening the door wide, she waves her hand to usher him in. Peeta looks around the small space, taking in the mostly empty apartment and scattered boxes littering the floor. A small couch, a rug, nothing special. A thought comes to mind and he asks,

"So you just moved in too?"

"Oh no, I've been here about a year." She twists next to him, pointing across the room to a small end table next to the couch, "The phone's over there..." The woman trails off, realizing the phone is in fact, not there. "It was..." She shuffles forward pass Peeta, "I put in in the suitcase, to muffle the ringing."

He's about to walk over and join her as she pulls the black phone from it's place when a loud yowl shocks him, a blur of yellowish orange fur jumping in front of his face and onto the shelf next to Peeta's head. "Is he alright?" He asks, observing the way half the cat's ear is missing and a few scars mark his face and chest.

"He's fine." She confirms, racing over to pluck the animal from it's place, the woman cradles him to her chest as she walks to the fridge, "Poor nameless thing, I found him in the park, didn't feel right naming something that isn't mine." She pulls a bottle of milk from the fridge, dropping the cat on the ground in the process, "The way I see it, I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together. I don't know where that is."

Peeta tilts his head, confused when she smiles softly, "I know what it's like. It's like Tiffany's."

"Tiffany's?" He questions, even more confused then before, "The jewelry store?"

"That's right," She smirks at him, pouring the milk into a small bowl on the floor, "I'm crazy about Tiffany's."

"Why?"

"You know those days," She stands to go sit on the couch, "When you just feel horrible? Like nothing can take you out of the meaningless pit of unhappiness you've fallen into? Have you had those days?"

"Sure," Peeta replies, "Everyone's had them."

"Well when I get that way, the only thing that cheers me up is to go to Tiffany's. Nothing very bad can happen to you there." She props her bare feet up on a nearby box, turning to look at him fully when she laughs, "If I could find a place like Tiffany's, then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name."

"What do you call him?" Peeta asks curiously, looking at the fur ball drink it's milk in her kitchen.

"Buttercup, but that's not his name, just something I can use to yell at him with."

"And you? What's your name?"

"Katniss Everdeen." Katniss answers, sitting back before realizing, "You came here for something, the phone!"

"Yeah," Peeta rubs the back of his neck nervously while sitting down next to her, "I have someone important to meet, this is 10:00 Thursday morning, right? I just got off the plane from Rome and I'm-"

"Thursday!" Katniss yells suddenly, jumping up from her seat, "I almost forgot." Peeta hangs the phone up as she runs down the hall, mumbling about how absolutely horrible Thursday was.

"What's so bad about Thursday?"

"I usually over sleep and miss the 10:45 train, and then they give me a lecture about visiting hours that seems to last for hours." Peeta careful looks on as she brushes her teeth, "Ugh, and Snow will have a fit if I show up to the Capitol like this." Katniss groans, gesturing to her tired eyes and messy hair.

"The Capitol?" Peeta stops short at her words, "Like the prison?"

"Yes, all the visitors make sure to look their best. Women in the finest of furs and children with curly ribbons in their hair. Honestly I find it all too much of a hassle, but Seneca would have my head if I didn't at least wear something nice." Katniss sits at the vanity, braiding her hair with quick fingers before pinning it up out of the way.

"So you're getting ready to visit someone at the Capitol?" Peeta frowns, wondering why a girl like her would be going any where near that place, "May I ask who you are going to see?"

She bites her bottom lip, "I really shouldn't discuss this, but he never told me not to tell anyone. Coriolanus Snow, surely you've read about him in the papers."

"Snow?" Peeta repeats, obviously shocked.

"I'm not very pleased with the arrangement," Katniss scowls at her reflection, "He's a mean spirited old man, in fact, I never even knew him until after he'd been locked up in that prison. I've been going to see him every Thursday for seven months," She catches the look her guest if giving her out of the corner of her eye, "Trust me, I wouldn't be going if he wasn't paying me."

"He pays you?"

"That's right," She retrieves a dress from her closet, "At least, his lawyer does. Seneca Crane. I doubt he's a real lawyer though. I mean, what kind of lawyer asks to meet at hamburger heaven? Can you hand me that hat?" Katniss asks, pointing to the blue one resting next to him on the bed. Peeta does, a puzzled look on his face when she continues while changing in the bathroom, "All I have to do is go sit with a miserable old man for a while each Thursday and earn a hundred while doing it. Although a girl can make that in two trips to the powder room. How do I look?"

Peeta nearly swallows his tongue when she steps out in a beautiful pastel blue dress, the end falling just below her knees with a neat bow tied around the waist. Her pinned up braid is covered by the large matching hat, shadowing her displeased expression. "Very good," He tells her.

"Thank you." Katniss grabs her bag from the floor, high heels clicking as she walks away from him.

"Call me anytime," Peeta tells her, a charming smile plastered on his face that for once doesn't feel forced in the slightest, "I'm just upstairs."

..

The next time he sees Katniss Everdeen is in his bedroom.

It's the middle of the night when Peeta's woken by the sound of foot steps, a blushing Katniss sitting in his window staring at his bare chest as he sits up in bed. "It's alright," She whispers loudly, "Just me." Hair twisted up in a bun and a fluffy white robe wrapped around her thin frame. Her eyes widen as Peeta pulls up the bed sheet higher, a blush to rival her own on his face.

"Just- Just wait a minute Miss-" His nervous stuttering is cut short by her.

"Call me Katniss," She requests, swinging her legs in from outside the window on the fire escape, "From downstairs, we met this morning."

"I remember." Peeta, a frantic look in his eyes, looks around for the thing, or rather the person he doesn't exactly want this Katniss girl to know anything about.

"She's not here anymore." Katniss whispers, eyes downcast as she continues, "I saw her leave. I must say she works late hours for a decorator." She says the last word in an accusing tone, a small scowl tugging the corners of her lips down.

"Why are you here?" Peeta says, biting back a few comments about her arrangements at the Capitol.

"There's a lovely gentleman downstairs," She sighs deeply, slipping off the windowsill to stand next the bed, "Thing is he's a very charming person when sober, but get enough whiskey in him and he can turn quite... mean. I couldn't stand it any longer so I bailed out the bathroom window and climbed up the fire escape. The perfectly timed muffled sound of glass breaking downstairs reinforces her explanation. "Look, you can kick me out if you like, but you looked so relaxed in her and your decorator friend left..." Katniss trails off.

"And to think I always heard people in New York never get to know their neighbors." Peeta mumbles before asking loud enough for her to hear across the room, "So, how was the Capitol?"

"Horrible." Katniss spits out distastefully, like the mere thought of the place makes a foul taste come to her mouth. Peeta watches as she casually strolls across the room toward him, pulling out a cigarette from his freshly bought pack. Katniss holds the object between her lips while lighting it, "I can't stand that man."

Peeta lights a cigarette of his own, carefully making sure the sheets do not shift in his lap. "You shouldn't go then."

"You're sweet, you know that?" She smiles at him, "Remind me of my sister Prim. Look a little like her too, all blonde hair and blue eyes. I don't even know how we're related, but our mother always said I looked like our father while Prim took after the fairer side of the family." Peeta nearly lunges forward when Katniss sits in front of the desk, eyes trained on the folded money laying on it's surface, "300? She's very generous." She pauses, as if she doesn't know if she should keep going, "Is that by the week? The hour?"

"I think it's time for you to leave." He suggests harshly, staring daggers down at his own lap instead of locking eyes with her.

"Oh no Peeta," She whines, tipping her head back and blowing smoke up toward the ceiling, "I truly didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'm sorry. Don't be angry," Her grey eyes shift back and forth before adding, "I just want you to know I understand. Completely."

They sit in silence together until he gives in, "It's fine, why don't you make yourself a drink. Or better yet, let me get dressed and I'll make you one."

"No, I've got it." Katniss insists, uncapping one of the lined up glass bottles before filling one of the nearby cups, "I'm sure your exhausted, since you were sound asleep and everything." She's quiet then, carefully closing the bottle of some high brand whiskey before looking at him with regretful expression on her face, "I suppose you think I'm very brazen, coming into your home in the middle of the night. I apologize."

"No problem," Peeta watches as she tips the glass back and drinks, he swallows hard before teasing her, "You are slightly crazy though."

Katniss laughs, an angelic tone that has Peeta's heart skipping two beats before remarking, "Everyone thinks so but I don't mind, it's useful. What do you do anyway?" She adds last moment, glancing at the easel and paints across the room.

"I'm a painter, I guess."

"Guess?" Katniss stands, "Surely you should know what you do and who you are."

Peeta smirks, "I'm a baker, I'm a painter. I like to sleep with the windows open, and I never take sugar in my tea. But the window thing may stop now, with my downstairs neighbor scaling up the fire escape simply to hide from her boyfriend in my bedroom."

"Something you said this morning has been bothering me all day," He starts, unsure if he'd heard right earlier, "Do they really give you fifty dollars for the powder room?" Katniss nods, taking another sip of her drink, "You must do pretty well then."

"I've been trying to save." She explains, suddenly nervous when she admits, "You do look a lot like my sister." Peeta gets the feeling her tongues a little loose from the whiskey when she continues, "I haven't seen her since I was twelve. That's when I left home. She was seven but already more a lady than I was." Peeta leans back when she sits on the bed next to him, resting her cheek on his bare shoulder. "She's so sweet, kind, and caring... Prim's at some far off boarding school now, my drunken uncle Cray sent her there a few years ago. Best place for her until she's old enough to leave, and I have money saved."

"And then what?" Peeta urges her on, enjoying the way her lips curve up into a small smile.

"I'll move us to some small town, preferably near the woods for me and the shore for Prim." Katniss rambles on about the things they'll do, from Prim's nursing career to her own dream of shooting a bow again. When the woman at his side spoke of her sister's blonde braids or the way she'd tell Katniss how much she wanted to look like her when Prim was obviously the pretty sister (Peeta argues when she says this).

"Katniss?" The pair had fallen into a comfortable silence, with Katniss's glass drained and sitting next to him on the bedside table. Stray strands of her soft brown hair contrast against his chest as she snores quietly. Peeta doesn't even have time to process the fact that she's sleeping before he's dozed off as well.

..

"No! No no no!"

She's wiggling against his side, repeating the word as if it pains her just to say it. Peeta, instantly awake and alert, grabs her shoulders. Shaking, he looks down at her smoky eyes that brim with tears, whatever comforting words that he had die on his tongue when she furiously wipes at her watery eyes. "Why are you crying?" Peeta asks worriedly.

Katniss pulls away from him. Her face is an odd mixture of emotions. Sadness, shock, confusion. "If were going to be friends," She cries, "You should know. I'm not a very good one." With that she's standing, nearly running for the window before he can stop her. Peeta stays glued to his spot in bed as she flings open the window and climbs out into the night.

"What just happened?"

..

Darling,

Please forgive me for last night. Stop in for a drink tonight around 6-ish,

-Your friend Katniss Everdeen

The little note is taped onto his mailbox with a package. Her handwriting is rough and hard to read but Peeta decodes the letter that smells vaguely like she does. French perfume with an underlying tone of the forest. A small is on his face all the way up the stairs, until he opens the apartment door and the distinct ringing of a phone breaks his happy mood.

"Peeta, sweetheart, I've been trying to get a hold of you all morning!" Cashmere's voice, sugarcoated and dripping with class, comes from the other line. "Hevensbee got home early, so I'm afraid I'll have to bug out. Tell the other girls for me, would you?"

"Yeah, I'll handle it." Peeta confirms flatly.

"Thank you, I'll make sure to phone you tomorrow morning, Peeta."

"Whatever you say."

"You'll be able to manage without me tonight?" She purrs into the phone.

Sighing, Peeta just says, "I'll be fine."

..

**Author's Note:**

> Comment, kudos, and bookmark please. Written for the Everlarkian Archives Movies in the Month of May event.


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